Return runway for bowling balls



March 31, 1942. E. w. DISCHER RETURN RUNWAY FOR BOWLING BALLS Fild Sept. 13, 1940 Inventnr EM/.Drscher;

H'btELTIZlEHE Patented Mar. 31, 1942 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,278,193 RETURN RUNWAY FOR BOWLING BALLS Edward W. Discher, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application September 13, 1940, Serial N 0. 356,682

2 Claims.

This invention appertains to the game of bowling, and more particularly to the return runway for the balls.

It is customary to provide wooden rails or tracks for the runway, and much diificulty is experienced therewith. These runwayssoon become worn and battered by the throwing of the balls thereon by the pin boys, and the rails are hard to keep in alinement and in the desired spaced relation, possibly due to the expansion and contraction of the wood under climatic changes.

Therefore, one of the salient objects of my invention is to provide a return runway for bowling balls constructed from metal tubing, with novel means for firmly connecting the tubing together and for firmly anchoring the tubing to the floor, the metal runway forming a strong and sturdy construction which is pleasing and attractive to the eye.

A further important object of my invention is the provision of transversely extending clamp plates or brackets adapted to be connected to the floor at one side of the alley, with novel adjustable jaws or clamps on each side thereof for receiving and clamping the metal tube, the jaws forming means for securing the tube in place and for rigidly connecting the ends oi the tubing together.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more'specifically described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, top plan view of a return runway for the balls of a bowling alley.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, detail, transverse, sectional view through the same, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating one of the clamping members on the ends of the clamp plate or bracket.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter It generally indicates my novel return runway for bowling balls.

The return runway R for the balls includes spaced, parallel rails 5 and 6 formed from sections of metal tubing. The sections are of a length best suited for the purpose intended, and the tubes are preferably of an ornamental character, such as bronze, copper, polished steel or the like.

The sections for the rails 5 and 6 are firmly united together and to the alley by means of clamp plates or brackets B. These brackets B extend transversely of the runway, and each includes a base I, which can be securely fastened to the alley in any desired manner, such as by screws 8, which pass through the base plates. The base plate carries the gripping means for the rails, and the gripping means may consist of stationary, arcuate, clamping jaws 9 and rigidly upstanding side wall portions HI formed on the base.

Cooperating with the rigid jaws 9 are removable, adjustable clamping jaws H. The jaws H can be adjustably connected to the side walls In, which carry the rigid jaws 9 by machine screws i2. The jaws 9 and H are so formed as to expose a part of each of the tracks 5 and 6, so that balls of different diameters can readily travel over the tracks of the runway without striking the jaws.

The joints of the pipe sections of the rails 5 and 6 are staggeredly related relative to one another, and by referring to Figure 1, it will be noted that the tubular rail 6 has pipe sections connected together and held by the central bracket B; while the tubular rail 5 has the sections thereof united at the brackets on each side of the central bracket.

In order to form a rigid joint, inserts l3 can be placed inside of the tube sections at the joints thereof, and these inserts or couplings can be formed solid or of metal tubes. After the sections of the tubular rails have been united, the same can be carefully smoothed down, so that the balls will roll freely over the joints without a clicking noise. Likewise, if preferred, the meeting ends of the tubular sections can be smoothed, and the sections can be turned until the ends are properly mated or mated to the best advantage without the forming of an objectionable crack between adjacent tubular rail sections.

The novel bracket B forms an efficient means for uniting the sections of the tubular rails together and also means for firmly anchoring the rails of the runway in place, and the brackets effectively prevent spreading of the rails.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. In a return runway for the balls of bowling alleys, a pair of spaced parallel rails, and means for firmly uniting the rails together and for se curing the rails as a unit to a support including a transversely extending flat anchor plate, upstanding end walls on the terminals of the plate, arcuate jaws formed on the walls defining in conjunction with the walls seats for the rails, on which seats the rails are fitted, said jaws terminating slightly short of the longitudinal center of the rails, and removable and adjustable jaws carried by the inner faces of the Walls engaging the inner lower faces of said rails.

2. In a return runway for the balls of bowling alleys, a pair of spaced parallel rails, each including a pluraility of tubular sections, coupling members disposed interiorly of the tubular sections at the meeting ends thereof, and means for firmly uniting the meeting ends of the rails together and for securing the pair of rails as a unit to a support, including a transversely extending anchor plate, upstanding end walls on the terminals of the plate, arcuate jaws formed on the walls defining in conjunction with said walls seats for the rails, on which seats the rails are fitted, said jaws extending about the meeting ends of the rail sections and terminating slightly short of the longitudinal center of the rail sections, and adjustable jaws carried by the inner faces of the walls engaging the inner lower faces of said rails at the meeting ends of the rail sections.

EDWARD W. DISCHER. 

